#FindsFriday Mosaics

As we’ve been continuing our works on the Red Lion mosaic this week, we thought it was appropriate to discuss mosaics for this weeks #FindsFriday! 🥳

Previously we have spoken about tessellated floors at the Mercury theatre and Mosaics found at Middleborough and the Victoria Inn, Colchester – but what are they? 🤔

The Ancient Greeks made the earliest mosaic floors from the 3rd century BC. The Romans liked the concept and started copying them. In Roman Britain we primarily find two sizes of main types of cube were used:
*Coarse red tesserae which are made from cut up bricks to make 20-30mm cubes. These were primarily used for borders around mosaics, in corridors, less important rooms and where floors were heated such as bathing areas or areas warmed by a hypocaust system.
*Mosaic cubes are smaller and usually measure between 8-12mm. Mosaic cubes are usually made from stone but in some cases such as areas of fine detail they are sometimes made from glass, frit or fragments of marble. Mosaic cubes are used to create a pattern or a detailed image.

Mosaic cubes are often made from locally sourced stone, for example oolithic limestone was used to create white cubes. Perhaps our abundance of coarse red tessellated floors in Colchester is due to there being few options for a local stone supply but an abundance of clay to make brick and tile.

Once the cubes are cut they are laid on a concrete-like material known as opus signinum (or op sig for short!) which is made from mixing crushed brick with lime mortar.

Typically mosaics were only laid on floors in villas and town houses of very wealthy individuals, or substantial public buildings like bath houses, as they would have taken a lot of time, materials and money to construct – it is thought that there are at least 40 decorated mosaics in Colchester! 👀

Mosaics found on the continent are typically much more detailed and show a much higher craftsmanship than those found in Britain. It could be that the expert mosaic makers didn’t quite want to give up their lavish lifestyle in Rome, and we’re not sure that we blame them! 😅